A Content – based Module for Facilitating Learning

MODULE 2

Title: Police Planning

Name of Student:

Course/ Year:

Class Schedule:

Module Overview:

This module is focused on police planning, you will learn in this module the elements of planning
and you will also determine the relevance of planning in police operation and the steps in planning
process.

Learning Outcomes

After completing this module, you can:

• Define police planning;

• Identify the elements of planning;
• Determine the relevance of planning in police operation; and
• Know the steps in planning process.

Lecture Notes

Read this…

➢ Police planning- is defined as the process of combining all aspects of the public safety
activity and the realistic anticipation of future problems.

Other Definitions:

• The analysis of strategy and the correlation of strategy to detail.

 • The use of rational design or pattern for all the public safety undertakings.
• The act of determining policies and guidelines for police activities and operations.
• Providing controls and safeguards for such activities and operation in the police forces.

Significance and Importance of Police Planning

Police planning is the key to administrative process. The process of combining all aspects of the
public safety activity and the realistic anticipation of the future problems, analysis of strategy and the
correlation of strategy to detail and use of rational design or pattern for all the public safety and
undertakings. Police planning also means the act of determining policies and guidelines for police
activities and operations and provides controls and safeguards for such activities and operations in the
police force.

Types of Police Planning

✓ Strategic Planning.

Strategic planning is a long term and with a far reaching impact. The commonly agreed timeline for
these types of plans is more than five years duration. This is usually done at the executive levels.

STEPS IN THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS

Step One: Defining the Mission of the Organization

An organization must first assess its mission in order to determine the more specific objectives
and goals. The mission of an organization is the fundamental, unique purpose that sets the organization
apart from others of its type and identifies the scope of its operation.

Step Two: Developing Organization Objectives

The next step after determining the organization’s mission is to establish how that mission is to
establish how that mission is to be accomplished by the organization. They formulated a set of
objectives a concrete, specific aims that management seeks to achieve for the organization, often within
a stated time period.

Step Three: Assessing Organizational Resources, Risks and Opportunities

The third step in the strategic planning process involves the assessments of the organizations
strengths and weaknesses in comparison with those of the other organization. This assessment of
organizational resources is used to identify appropriate strategies for accomplishing organizational
missions and objectives.
Step Four: Formulating Strategy

The organization’s assessment of its resources in relation to its environment concludes with the
selection of an appropriate strategy to take advantage of existing and expected environmental
conditions.

Step Five: Implementing Strategy

Once the strategic plan has been developed, implementation of that plan leads to tactical and
operational considerations.

Step Six: Monitoring and Adapting Strategic Plans

Monitoring involves establishing control mechanism so that feedback from the actual
implementation of the strategic plan can be analyzed. Through the feedback process, managers evaluate
the effectiveness of the strategy in action.

II. Tactical Planning

Tactical planning is short term and usually has limited impact. This is also referred to as near
term plan. The commonly agreed timeline for these types of plans is less than one year. This is usually
done at the ground levels of the organization.

Four Stages of Tactical Planning

1. Identify major tasks to achieve strategic goals

2. Assign persons responsible for tasks and prepare specific plans
3. Allocate resources
4. Set performance standards for each task

Tactical planning Tools:

1. Policies and programs

2. Quantitative plans
3. Technical plans

Policy or Procedural Plans

Are standards operating procedures which are outlined to guide members in their routine and
field operations and in some special operations in accordance with the following procedures:
 • Field Procedures- are procedures used in all situations which are outlined as a guide to officers
and men in the field.
• Headquarters Procedures- are procedures used in the headquarters such as the duties of the
administrative personnel, finance officer, desk officer, radio operator/dispatcher, jailer, matron
and other person concerned whose tour of duty are reflected in the duty manual.
• Special Operational Procedure- are procedures used in certain special operations unit as their
guides and reference.

Tactical Plans- are procedures for coping with specific situations at known locations.

III. Operational Plans- are plans for the operations of special divisions like the patrol, detective, traffic,
fire and juvenile control divisions. It is prepared to accomplish each of the primary police tasks.

IV. Management Plans- are plans in the organization relating to budget, accounting, personnel,
specifications, and the organization itself.

Steps in Police Planning

• Frame of reference
• Clarifying the problem
• Collecting all pertinent facts
• Analyzing the facts
• Developing alternative plans
• Selecting the most appropriate alternative
• Selling the plan
• Arranging for the executions of the plan
• Evaluating the effectiveness of the plan

Process of Planning

• Discovery or identifying of the problem

• Frame of reference Isolation and classification of the problem
• Collection and analysis of pertinent facts, data and opinions
• Developing alternative plans through identification and evaluation
• Selection of the most appropriate alternative and subsequently
 • Selling the plan to persons concerned for the arrangement of its execution and evaluation of its
effectiveness.

Fundamentals of Police Planning

• Know your situation

• Know what you want to do
• Breakdown your goals into smaller tasks
• What are the resources needed
• Anticipate problems or changing conditions
• Implement your plan
• Monitor result
• Evaluate the plan
• Document the experience
• Report your experience

Characteristics of Police Plans

• Clearly defined objectives or goals

• Possibility of attainment
• Flexibility
• Provision for standards of operation
• Economy in terms or resources needed for implementation
• Anticipated effects of effects on future operations

Execution of Police Plan

• Protections of persons and property

• Preservation of the peace
• Prevention of crime
• Repression or suppression of criminal activities
• Apprehension of criminals
• Enforcement of laws and ordinances and regulations of conduct
• Safeguarding of public health and moral
• Prompt execution of criminal writs and processes of the courts
• Coordination and cooperation with other law enforcement agencies
Elements of Planning

• A goal
• Course of action
• Implementing group
• Resources needed

Importance of Planning

Careful planning should result in the development of a blueprint describing the means to
accomplish the objectives.

Categories of Plans

➢ Time

Short range- covers a time period of 1 year or less. (patrol plan)

Intermediate range- covers a time period between 1 and 5 years (conduction of PNP Police Station)

Long range- covers a time period of 5 years above (PNP Modernization Plan)

➢ Use

Single use- predetermined course of action for unique, non-recurring situations, includes program,
projects, budget (PNP Program for Deployment of Personnel to UN Mision Haiti)

Standing- predetermined course of action for repetitive or long term activities, procedure, rules and
regulations (PNP Camp defense plan)

➢ Scope of Breadth

Strategic- establish over all objectives; position the organization in terms of its environment; can be
short or long term (PNP Transformation program)

Tactical- implementation of activities and resource allocations; typically short term (Anti Criminality
Campaign Plan)

Operational- use of quotas, standards, or schedules for implementing tactical plans (Nti Kidnapping Plan)
Focus Questions

Thinking to Learning Thoroughly

Discuss your answer on the following question briefly:

Instruction: Answer briefly all the questions below.

Questions:

1. Define planning and give its importance

2. What are the steps in planning?
3. Explain contingency plans and its benefits
4. Define police planning
5. What are the characteristics of police plan?

Learning Activities

Enriching what you have learn

In paragraph form, write your ideas and discussed your answer in the question below:

(In google classroom, this will be posted as a written task. There will be a deadline to be set for the
submission of answer.)

1. What are the fundamentals of police planning? Explain each briefly.

2. What are the basic purposes of investigation?
3. Give examples of police planning
4. What are the characteristics police plans?

Assessment

Testing How Far you have learned

What is considered as specialized operations in law enforcement and why?

References:

Police Planning and Operations with Master Plans and Procedures. Adelene Maghinay Florendo 2011

Police Planning. O.W Wilson, 2nd Edition